How gud are Medical Facilities in Bangkok

My God Man this isn't the 1960's  the healthcare is better than in the US, there are a lot of Great hospitals here, yes they have all the latest equipment and the doctors speak English, the medication is very easy to get, mostly over the counter, but the Doctors can be heavy handed with handing it out, pretty sure they make money on the prescriptions, I have been to community hospitals that charge 1.50 US dollar and in this kind of case I offer to make a donation to the hospital 30-40 dollars.  In a private hospital I went for a physical with exam and blood test it was 85.00 dollars. I would suggest you check out Thai Life Insurance for medical just for hospital stays, it will cost 1000.00 to 1500.00 a year, it is the best deal in Thailand, not many people know about this insurance unless they live with a Thai family. You can go to your choice of hospitals for care. Good Luck to You.  Welcome to Thailand.  Patrick

your topic is very wide and people will have different experiences depending on the health insurance they have and hospital they use, and for which treatment.

Just few informations to start :

- If you look at medical tourism, they will say that Thailand is the world leader,, with 2 main hospital in Bangkok which are like 5 stars hotel... more details in below link
business-in-asia.com/asia/thailand_medical_tour.html

- Health insurance will vary a lot depending on your age, medical condition, past, etc.... in Thailand you can choose OPD and IPD, the most important is IPD ( In patient department ) which require that you have a serious medical to be admitted into the hospital for an overnight stay. As opposite OPD ( Out patient department ) optional with most insurance policies. OPD allows you to walk into the hospital and visit with a doctor for any medical reason ( even minor ).

Just for information I pay a doctor visit around 200 THB plus the medecines ( usually can be cheap as you pay just for the quantity needed and not a full box or full bottle ) for that it does not worth to pay Health insurance for OPD.

Regarding Health insurance,  I pay only IPD for my wife and daughter and it cost me 50,000 THB per year for the both together, again each case is specific as age, male/female, past diagnosis, etc..you need to ask quote and need to undertand what is included inside and excluded too, it is not about saying this insurance company is cheaper than other, there is a reason in the cover or max price they will pay for hospital room or emergency room, or list of hospitals they will deal with, etc...

- If you go in the website of hospital you will often find a list of the doctor with photo specialization and a short CV about their diplomas, where they have studied, etc..you will see their facilities, which type of disease they cover, you can even have online quote for expensive one, etc....

- Regarding surgery this is again wide, can go from cosmetic to things more serious for cancer, and some hospital will be better specialized than others.

- For example Bangkok Hospital will have presence in many areas like Chiang Mai, Hua Hin, Phuket, Pattaya etc, full list can be found in their website : bangkokhospital.com/en/#

I think the medical care you receive will be dependent on the doctor first and then the hospital.  If something serious I personally will only use one of the top private hospitals in Bangkok.  If not serious I would choose a private hospital over government to avoid the wait.

The government provincial hospitals normally have latest equipment but the wait can be long but cost is low.  The smaller cities and towns usually do not have latest equipment.  The doctors that work in any government hospital usually works shifts at private hospital.  These same doctors may also have a private practice office.

At minimum obtain in-patient health insurance to cover major hospital stays.

When you pick a place to live do research before you need hospital or doctor.

Thanks Patrick and all fr valuable info.

Well, they do change the straw on the operating room floor weekly !!

Fact is Bangkok Bumrungrad Hospital is WORLD CLASS that even Arabs come to for treatment.  There are hundreds of specialties, check their web site.

However, accidents, like on the road, can not be immediately helicoptered to a hospital.... there are no such services and  land ambulances sit in traffic for hours.   Rumor has it that the Thai military does not trust civilians with helicopters and they have them all.  Oh, there is helicopter service from Bumrungrad to the airport.... that is all.

In 2011, had gangrene surgery at Bangphaeo Hospital. Doctor as well as all doctors at this hospital spoke and speak English.because the hospital is monitored by the king's sister. My leg was saved. First thing they did was give one and one half IV bags of white blood cells. Then, they wrap the leg rather than use stitches or staples. THe cost of the seven operations and twenty-seven days in the hospital cost less than $7,000. My daughter-in-law's sister was an operating room nurse in Bumrungrad  Hospital in Bangkok. THe cost of medical is cheaper than USand most of the doctors were educated in Europe or the US. Quality is good, price is right.

Several hospitals in Bangkok are available to foreigners. I live 55km away in Samutsongkram but DON"T use their hospital. My hospital is in Bangphaeo which is governed by the King's sister. I have used this hospital since 2011 for gangrene surgery on my right leg, skin cancer surgery on my right cheek and cataract surgery on my right eye. The doctors all speak English(my glaucoma specialist's English is as good as in the US or Europe). AS the prices are a lot cheaper than the US, I have no problem using their facility!

Medical facilities in all countries differ immensely. I can advise the following which does not endear me to Thai medical services.

1. My Thai wife had intense lower abdominal pains for almost three years, we went to hospitals all over including Sirirat in Bangkok, Sirirat is overrun with patients and the doctors cannot cope. The specialist there said my wife was imagining the problem and to stop wasting his time. When overseas we visited a real hospital and she was diagnosed with a femoral hernia operated the next day and fully recovered.

2. I had severe shoulder pains and visited Bangkok hospital Pattaya who following x-rays diagnosed an abnormal bone growth and I should have shoulder surgery, I went to Bangkok Hospital Hua Hin, no x-rays and told I must do daily arm and shoulder exercises. I went to Petchaburi hospital who x-rayed, they advised I had no bone growth I had a torn shoulder muscle. I was working in Afghanistan at the time and went to a doctor there, the Afghan doctor ordered an MRI scan which showed a trapped nerve in my neck, NO Thai doctor had even suggested an MRI. Following injections directly into my vertebrae my problem is resolved.

3. My Thai grandmother was recently taken seriously ill, Roi Et hospital first said she must have a kidney removed, how does one live without a kidney? Next day they said no it's her appendix, the family followed the doctors "guess" and her appendix was removed. She seemed to be recovering, however they then said she had pneumonia but was sent home regardless. A few days later back in hospital, now diagnosed with a heart problem, just what no one could tell us. Why was this not picked up earlier again no answer. What has happened with pneumonia and kidney problem - nothing I suspect there never was a problem.

Make your own decision what to think of Thai medical services

Gosh feels horrible , but i have an idea that most Asian countries have same medical facilities , even in large private medical centers. that's why i post this question here , anyway thanks for sharing u r experience, Spitts.

No need to feel horrible.

Some people have bad experience.

Some like my self have super, ultra, GREAT experience with the military hospital and doctors in Thailand.

For pain treatment i think Thailand is many years ahead of my home country (Denmark).

In Denmark there is no help for me and my pain, beside heavy pain killers and stay in bed on bad days, Some times bad days was weeks, a few time 3-4 month.

In Thailand for 5 years now, and only have 2 bed days in that time, 95% of the time i don´t take pain killers, And when i do, it is mild pain killers.
I do need to get treatment every 8-10 month at the hospital.

One can only judge by use the service here them self.

Kindly.

There are great hospitals in Bangkok. I would recommend Bhumrangrad. American trained doctors. There are others too. A Google search will find them.

Have retired Australian friends who come across to use Bhumrangrad. Cheaper than getting the surgical procedures done on Australia.

We usually go to Bumrungrad now, for the past couple of years, and we have mixed results with that.  Some of the doctors seem fine, and the diagnosis and treatment seems spot on, and then other times they seem to be making strange guesses related to illness causes and over-prescribing medications for symptoms that seem to just relate to running the bill up.  I wouldn't want to be seriously ill and find out if that went better. 

My guess is that you'd be fine, they'd get it sorted out, and they prescribe a lot of testing, which would help with that, just nothing has related to an MRI yet.  Keep in mind that in any country in the world a doctor could fail to make the right connection related to the cause of an illness so someone with a story about a problem isn't really much evidence for medical care in general to be worse.  Medical care standards here surely are different across different types of hospitals, so that has to be factored in as well.

They are good but I suggest that you use a top hospital or first rate facility such as Samitivej, etc. so that equipments are state of the art and English language is widely used.

i have a recent experience at Samitivej in Thonburi.

i would say overall, very positive experience and probably a third of what i would likely pay in my native Singapore, for a top private hospital

I was warded in the smallest room which is like 50sqm with nice tv, wifi and attaching bathroom. Got all the checks done with what seemed like sophisticated medical equipment

I think i paid THB70K for that 1 day.

The best hospitals, dental clinics and medical facilities are located in Bangkok. The bigger, tertiary hospitals do have topnotch medical facilities. Even in the dental industry, Thailand is becoming a top destination for dental tourism. Thantakit Dental Center has state-of-the-art facilities and impressive buildings. Most of their patients are expats and their level of service can be considered as on par with western standards. It is essential though to pick the best medical facility so you can be ensured that the standards are met. Cheers